BASIS DCPCSB to open two PK3-5 campuses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By having so many kids held back, it would create a lot of kids who by 9th grade, are considered "at risk" since one of the at-risk categories is being a high school student who is a year or more behind in credits for age.

That creates a whole bunch more kids who are eligible for the at-risk preference for Wilson and other high schools, should that be implemented. It will be interesting to see how that all plays out.

In this case, I think "held back" is a euphemism for getting "counseled out".

Not true. My 5th grade child has two friends at BASIS who are repeating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another BASIS DC parent--+1000 to the post above.

Also, to all parents who may have signed the list of parents interested in getting more information on the plans for a Basis primary last year--even if your desire for info had nothing to do with sending your child to a Basis elementary and/or you were just concerned about how the primary school might impact your child who was already at BDC, the school is purporting in their proposal to the PCSB that you and all the other parents interested in information are in fact clamoring for them to create a BDC elementary. They are now also proposing that 20% more students be allowed to occupy their Penn Quarter building.

I would not believe everything you read on DCurbanmom. I was told otherwise in regards to the number of students so I will not believe this unless I see a link to a document saying otherwise.

As for the elementary school model, everyone is making assumptions that their model will be drill and kill and be age inappropriate. I will not make this assumption at all since I have found their middle school methods age appropriate for the most part. The only thing I would like to see is a shorter school day and 10 to 20% less homework. But otherwise, the content they have covered and the methods they have used I believe are very accessible. A student will have a harder time if they are years behind or have little exposure to academic content.

Our kid had a lot of exposure to the sort of things BASIS will most likely be covering in elementary school from what I can tell in age appropriate ways. Kids can actually learn a lot about history, grammar, science and so on at young ages in very fun ways. I think there is this notion that kids are unable to this which I think is wrong. Also, kids who go to a BASIS elementary school will most likely be more prepared for middle and high schools.

Project enrollment/capacity for 8th street building is on page 3 of the proposal http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/report/2016-09-02%20BASIS%20DC%20ES%20Amendment%20Application%20REDACTED.compressed.pdf

Read pages 10-50 at the same link and decide for yourself if the approach is appropriate.

-BDC middle school parent who read 100+ pages of this and would vote NO

It clearly says enrollment is increasing by 20%. Where will they put them?

Read pages 10-20 and didn't see anything bad. Can you point out the juicy parts?

[Anonymous]

There are usually interesting tidbits in the capacity interviews, and the one for BASIS expansion is here. I don't have time to go through all 100_ pages, but maybe someone else does. Charter Board public hearing is tomorrow:

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=2095787#anchor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are usually interesting tidbits in the capacity interviews, and the one for BASIS expansion is here. I don't have time to go through all 100_ pages, but maybe someone else does. Charter Board public hearing is tomorrow:

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=2095787#anchor

Thanks. I read it quickly. Some challenging questions from the DCPCSB around a few points (why not PK, special education, why they think the population will be only 17% FARMS, promotion policy).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is quite different from any other elementary school in the city.

For starters students would begin changing classes / having different teachers for different core subjects in early elementary (but not K).

Has anyone else read this yet?

OK, that is the one thing that is NOT different -- there are other schools (JKLMs) that change classes and have subject matter specialized teachers at least by 4th, and at least one does starting in 1st.

All the rest of what they plan for this school is what makes it "quite different" and, IMHO, nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is quite different from any other elementary school in the city.

For starters students would begin changing classes / having different teachers for different core subjects in early elementary (but not K).

Has anyone else read this yet?

OK, that is the one thing that is NOT different -- there are other schools (JKLMs) that change classes and have subject matter specialized teachers at least by 4th, and at least one does starting in 1st.

All the rest of what they plan for this school is what makes it "quite different" and, IMHO, nuts.

Did you submit a comment to the PCSB?

[Anonymous]

Current BASIS seniors (15 at last count) can count on finding jobs as psychologists and offer counseling to those kiddos considered non-BASIS material after attending the school for a few years ... students who will suffer irreparable damages.

[Anonymous]

Did anyone watch the public hearing last night? Did people show up to speak?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone watch the public hearing last night? Did people show up to speak?

I watched the BASIS presentation and questions from the Board, didn't watch through to the end of the hearing when any comments from real people would have been made.

The Board was both complimentary and challenging to the BASIS team; recognizing their results but expressing concerns about the school demographics (only 20% economically disadvantaged, 0% ELL, 6% special education) and pressing them for how they will work to make their population better reflect DC. It was a very lengthy back and forth. Some PCSB members are going to Arizona next week to visit their existing K-4s and they were encouraged to respond to some questions between now and the vote next month.

You can watch the tape of the meeting here
http://livestream.com/dcpcsb/events/6493532

[Anonymous]

Mark Lerner was not impressed.

https://parentshaveschoolchoicekidswin.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone watch the public hearing last night? Did people show up to speak?

About 6 current BASIS parents or prospective parents spoke. All were supportive of the expansion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mark Lerner was not impressed.

https://parentshaveschoolchoicekidswin.com/

I enjoyed reading Mark Lerner in his analysis, but I disagree that BASIS is not serving students who would otherwise be "left behind". My student would otherwise be at a K-8 DC Education Campus . It simply is not one of the most academically rigorous middle schools in the country. She was bored, unhappy, and lonely in public schools -- to put it simply, she was left behind. At BASIS, she is not -- she has friends, she has challenges, she is proud and she is happy. Because of BASIS and for no other reason, she is no longer "left behind." I think many people forget that academically gifted students at the opposite end of the spectrum are just as forgotten as academically challenged students at one end of the spectrum. Public schools tend to fill only a middle, normal, average student and anyone who doesn't fit that cookie-cutter has no where else to go.

Now, I'm not sure that I'm personally in favor of a BASIS K-4, only because my daughter didn't show real "gift" until 3rd grade, so I would be hesitant to force parents to make that decision in preK. It seems unfair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone watch the public hearing last night? Did people show up to speak?

About 6 current BASIS parents or prospective parents spoke. All were supportive of the expansion.

10:52 PP here. Also a current BASIS parent. I'd love to hear what they had to say -- what were their reasons for being in favor. I'm not against, but I'm not in favor either -- I just don't understand it well enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone watch the public hearing last night? Did people show up to speak?

About 6 current BASIS parents or prospective parents spoke. All were supportive of the expansion.

10:52 PP here. Also a current BASIS parent. I'd love to hear what they had to say -- what were their reasons for being in favor. I'm not against, but I'm not in favor either -- I just don't understand it well enough.

If you go to the 2 hour mark in the hearing webcast (available at the link above) you can hear it. The statements were short (time limit).

To paraphrase, parents of current student spoke of how much their students are learning at BDC and how they liked the fact that the school expected excellence. A couple said they wished their children would have been able to start earlier to make the 4th to 5th grade transition easier.

Parents of prospective students spoke of wanting high quality options for their children and feeling like BASIS would give them a strong option. The word "excellence" came up a lot.

[Anonymous]

I have to say that given the plethora of shit-astic schools in DC (*especially* at the middle school level), it would seem insane to deny expansion to one of the very, very few middle schools that many people are happy with. Like, if BASIS isn't allowed to expand, who on earth should be?